Spearfishing and scuba diving

[patentcad]

Hey everyone I have decided to get into spearfishing and had some questions....

I scuba dive and was wondering how this works with spearfishing. When i get a fish can i reload my gun and keep on shooting, or would i surface after getting a fish?

I've heard that sharks are a problem with spearfishing? Should i have a strong concern about this?

Any other knowledge i should have before getting into spearfishing?

Thanks for the help!!

 

[cdavis]

If you spear off the Florida coast and keep the fish with you, sooner or later you will have shark problems. In the Keys, it will be sooner. In the Gulf, it will be later, probably much later. Off Tampa and north, it happened, but so rarely that we never worried about it. Off Daytona, I don't know, but lots of guys there spear on scuba, so its doable. On scuba, you are mostly forced to keep the fish with you. Use a stringer that is NOT tied on to you (been there, done that, bad idea) and be prepared to let the shark have it. Ask local divers about local shark conditions and details like which gun, how to rig it, etc.

Have fun

Connor

 

[patentcad]

thanks for the help connor!


Has anyone ever rigged something up where an extra line is tied to the boat and brought down and tied to the wreck. Then when you catch a fish you hook it to that rope and have a person on the boat bring it up? Am i out of my mind or does anyone have a method similar to this that they have done before?

Thanks!

 

[cdavis]

That idea has been used for very deep dives, shooting a small number of very big fish. For normal spearfishing, its a non-starter because of current, wind, diver movement, complexity of the gear, etc. Just not worth the hassle; a stringer is much, much easier and simpler.

Connor

 

[scottwilson]

Could you not use a speed stringer connected to your floatline? shoot and dispatch the fish, pop it on the speed stringer.

As you swim, the fish will work its way up the line enough, to give a safe distance between you and the fish





heres a link to the Rob allen setup
Rob Allen spearguns, railguns and other spearfishing and freediving accessories.

I dont use scuba so Im not sure how well it would work with not resurfacing

 

[patentcad]

I wont be using a float line becausse the sand is at about 85 feet. I am gonna go with the stringer, but i have a question about that...

How do you guys hook the fish to the stringer?

 

[cdavis]

The best stringers for scuba are made from a 5 ft spear, bent in a circle with a catch on the end. Push the sharp end through the eyes or gills and you are set.

 

[Nat.m]

I was under the impression that spearfishing when scuba diving was a big no no, after all what chance do the fish have???

 

[cdavis]

What chance? Depends on where you are and what you are hunting. Social norms are different in different places. Big fish in 150 ft of water are out of reach of freedivers. Some fish are much more vulnerable to freedivers than scuba divers, ie, hogfish in most of the Florida keys. Where I normally spearfish, a freediver with a sling will outshoot a scubie with a gun by two or three to one. There are also lots of examples where scuba is more effective than freediving. IMHO the broad brush bias against scuba spearfishing is, in large part, an emotional thing, feed by examples, like the Mediterranean, where overfishing by scuba spearos (and everybody else) got out of control.

Connor

 

[Old Man Dave]

Much has been written about this topic and many a heated arguement has taken place, with seldom a satisfactory outcome. Personally I'm with Connor on this one.

Dave.

 

[scottwilson]

If your Countries laws allows it and you want to do it then thats your choice.

as far as the fish standing no chance goes , I reckon I could out fish a uk scubie spearo anyday, no self respecting bass/pollack/ mullet would hang around with all that noise roflroflrofl

Harvesting Scallops, crabs, lobsters and flatties on the other hand I wouldnt stand a chance.

 

[Don Paul]

Ok I going to come clean... I used a pair of SCUBA fins and shot a White Sea Bass, but I do much better with long blades.
Joking aside I have never spearfished on SCUBA and never will.
I do SCUBA dive sometimes and I enjoy it as well.
Freediving is like religion to me, a personal choice.
Cheers, Don Paul

 

[Amphibious]

I'm with Don. Spearfishing = Freediving to me. and I would feel the experience of the hunt would be cheapened if I used compressed gas.

that being said, if it's legal in your area, why not? weather it be scuba or breathhold, spearfishing gets people out into the water and off the couch, it's still selective harvest, and great fun.

I encourage my scuba diving friend to try spearfishing, then, when they're hooked, I try my hardest to convert them to the path of the snorkel

 

[Erik]

Ok I going to come clean... I used a pair of SCUBA fins and shot a White Sea Bass

Sacrilege! LOL.

 

[Don Paul]

Sacrilege! LOL.

I know....I know... back to my old Imersion long blades, can't brake them.
Cheers, Don Paul

 

[Pinoy Sniper]

IMHO the broad brush bias against scuba spearfishing is, in large part, an emotional thing

I am with cdavis on this one...

Pinoy Sniper

 

[Don Paul]

I am with cdavis on this one...

Pinoy Sniper

Then you should quote his complete sentence I would think ?
I do respect your opinion either way though.
Don Paul

 

[Pinoy Sniper]

Don Paul,

I used that particular sentence because it is the one that struck me as the most important...at least to me. Anyone reading my reply would know where that sentence came from.

Thank you for being open-minded. I appreciated that.

Dive safe.

Pinoy Sniper